The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-03-25
Liberals Should Refuse to Vote Urgency
for the Government Measure.
A Mob of Chinese Tramrs Inveigled Into a
Temple and Nearly Three Hundred ofthe
Party Burned to Death-Cable Notes.
THE IRISH DEBATE.

Gladstone Denounces the Closure Rnle and
Forces the Ministry to Abandon 1t.
LONDON, March 24.-In the House of Com
mons, this evening, the debate on the motion for
urgency for the coercion bill resumed by
Mr.. Gladstone. He referred to the 'Vnpre-
cedented" position of the House, which had
already sat two months, during which, he said,
its independent initiative had been suppressed. |
Even now the Conservatives exulted over pros
pect of passing motion forcing the House to an |
absolute surrender of its whole time until bill |
OF an extremely severe character had been car |
ried. The House was threatened with frequent |
application of the closure if the debates were |
protracted. No greater calamity could befall the |
House than this sort of pressure He would say |
that the authority of the Chair was bringing the |
procedure rules into dispute He had seen |
more parliamentary life than any other man in !
the House. but he never knew of grave a |
state of affairs was due to the extreme
abuse Of power by the majority, which, if per-
sisted IN, would leave behind sense OF intoler
able wrong. The yoke thus put on the neck of
the House would not be borne patiently. The
position OF affairs was very different from that
when the coercion bill of 1881 was passed. No
there any indication of the nature of the pro-
posed government measure. Heretofore, in
asking special legislation for dealing with
crime in Ireland, the Ministers had
tried to show that the terrible preva-
lence of crime threatened social order.
Was that the case now2 No. The House had
been told that the number of agraran offenses,
prio, to the passage of Mr.. Forster's coercion
act, exceeded the highest number since Crime.
then, however, was Of different character from
that which the government now sought to
check The present crime consisted in combin
ing to obtain reduction of rent. Irish cheers
Even the evidence which the government put
before the House showed that this crime was
restricted to demands for just abatements of
rent Never had any former coercion act been
resisted by majority of members from Ireland.
Now there protest against coercion from
overwhelming majority of the Irish members.
Had the government any just claim for demanding
coercion, urgency for new repressve meas
ures9 After appointing a commission to exam
inc. the spot the rent question and the evils
arising from the land laws. the
government havenow put aside the
recommend ations of the commission and
asked Parliament for increased power to
make laws still more offensive to the general
sense of the people. Irish cheers. General
Buffers evidence proved that tenants not paying
rent were anxious to pay; that there Was no
general movement against payment of rent, but
only combined effort to obtain fair rents The
Irish people are apt to follow the example con-
stantly set by Others and will try to what
| they can make out of exclusive dealing.
| [Cheers. The government said contracts should
| not be broken, yet Balfour, while preach
| ing the doctrine of sanctty of contracts,
was going to introduce bill breaking leasehold
| contracts adjusted under the land act of 1881,
| just as the judicia! rents were So 1t is not to
vindicate the sancity OF contracts nor to repress
| widespread outbreak of crime that the govern
ment now demanded coercion for Ireland. OF
| whatever nature the government measure should
turn out TO be. it was the duty of Liberals
whether in the minority or the majority, to re-
| fuse urgency. He trusted the people of Eng
| land would see the Liberals united IN opposing
| this i'll l-omened measure to the last stage, ard
that Liberal members would ring out their
| voices for justice and reason against the govern
| ment, which, after eighty-six years of expert
! ence. was preparing, under the name of a stat
| ute Of Parliament. to strike fresh blow ct the
| life and happiness of Ireland, and at the pros
perity. contentment and unity of the empire.
Mr.. Gladstone's denunciation Of the use Of the
closure to curtail debates on the urgency motion
and the coercion bill has forced the government
to reconsider the subject. The Ministry has
decided to permit prolongation of the discussion,
| but will insist that the House forego its Easter
vacation unless the coercion bill be passed be-
fore the holidays
One section of the Gladstonian party is dis
contented with Gladstone's half-veiled approval
of the "Pan of Campaign" The English
Home-ruers and the Parnellites are delighted
with the speech.
Mr. Balfour in introducing the coercion bill.
will respond to Gladstone's challenge to the gov
ernment to state what crime exists that justiies
the adoption of the measure. The Dublin ex-
ecutive has prepared a statement designed to
assist Balfour in proving that the 'Plan of Cam
| is hej tra1 ho
are creditors of farmers belonging to the Nation
al League. The Parnellltes will maintain that
the plan is strictly confined to arrangements re-
specting rent.
Mr. Chamberlain condemned the attitude of
those who without knowing the nature of the
bill, refused to give opportunity to introduce or
discuss it. Who was it told them that Ireland
blocked the way2 This being admitted, why re-
fuse urgency for the bill! Experience showed
that former remedial measures had failed. The
condition of Ireland was as bad as ever. Ad-
mitting that previous coercive acts had not re-
removed the discomfort they at least resulted in
the maintenance Of order and out
ward respect for law. Admitting that
the present disorder was Of only
limited extent, was that reason why it should
be allowed to continuea They must remember
that the machinery of intimidation so per-
feet that the committal of outrages unneces-
sary. He agreed that it was the most urgent
duty of the government to deal with the land
| question at the earliest possible moment; but he
thought the government uniustly accused of
vagueness in reference to their proposals, be-
cause they could not be expected to develop
on motion for urgency.
Mr.. Gladstone, in letter to correspondent
says: II disagree with You in the statement
that have not definitely formed an opinion re-
specting the final settlement of the Irish land
question. l do not sympathize with the pro-
posal to nationalize the land"
Balfour's Tiger Heart and Woman's Hide.
DUBLIN. March 24.-United Ireland, Mr.. Par
nelrs organ, publishes bitter attack on Mr..